I was curious if anyone can recommend in Japan, or other Asian country for that matter, any sesshins or the such for english speaking people or at least places friendly to foreigners. I would stay one to three weeks I imagine. With luck, I will be on my way to Thailand at some point next year to train towards ordination as a Theravada Bhikkhu. I would like to at least experience a little bit of the Zen way first which I have the utmost respect for, but little experience.

The abbot is German, the common language is English and it is a mixed bag of Japanese, Germans and everyone else.

Nice oldschool Soto Zen temple up in Hyogo prefecture on top of a mountain. The air is clean, the rice is full of fiber and minimum four hours of zazen a day not including free days.

This is your best option in all of Japan in my opinion. They also have long sesshins.

Thank you kindly Huseng and everyone else. Antaiji seems absolutely perfect. So much so that I have written to ask to stay. I have much to learn. Most of my experience with Buddhism is from Theravada but then that is why I am seeking to practice more outside of my comfort bubble.

The abbot is German, the common language is English and it is a mixed bag of Japanese, Germans and everyone else.

Nice oldschool Soto Zen temple up in Hyogo prefecture on top of a mountain. The air is clean, the rice is full of fiber and minimum four hours of zazen a day not including free days.

This is your best option in all of Japan in my opinion. They also have long sesshins.

Thank you kindly Huseng and everyone else. Antaiji seems absolutely perfect. So much so that I have written to ask to stay. I have much to learn. Most of my experience with Buddhism is from Theravada but then that is why I am seeking to practice more outside of my comfort bubble.

Kind Regards,B

I stayed at Antaiji for 3 months back in 2008. I would definitely recommend it if you want to practice a lot of zazen.

Oh, and their sesshins are the most difficult thing I've ever done in my entire life. And I've been through football, hockey, and wrestling camps, lol.